Reported this as a rumor a while back – it’s now official…
University of North Dakota men’s basketball head coach Brian Jones announced the addition of Jason Shay to round out his coaching staff for the 2013-14 season. Shay replaces Brent Wilson, who was recently named head coach at Sullivan County (N.Y.) Community College.
“We are extremely excited to have Jason and his family join ours here at UND,” Jones said. “He is a tireless worker and brings great credentials to our program. We are blessed to have a great staff for the upcoming season that will continue to develop and mentor our players.”
Shay is a veteran assistant coach at the Division I level and was a high school rival of Jones as both prepped in west-central Illinois before going onto collegiate careers at Iowa and Northern Iowa, respectively.
“I have known Jason for a long time and could not be more thrilled to have him join our coaching staff,” Jones added. “He has a great basketball mind and his knowledge and experience will be a nice fit for us as we continue to grow at the Division I level.”
Shay spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Northwest Florida State College, helping lead the Raiders to a 62-6 overall mark and back-to-back Panhandle Conference Championships and appearances in the NJCAA Division I National Championship game.
“I’m grateful to Coach Jones and very appreciative of Mr. Faison for allowing him to bring me on,” Shay said. “I look forward to the opportunity because this is an exciting time to be a part of this program.
“Coach Jones has done a great job since taking over here and he has a team coming back that was in the top three in the Big Sky last season, so I’m excited to come here and try to help us get a conference championship.”
His two seasons at the junior college in Niceville, Fla., followed a six-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee. During his tenure in Knoxville, the Volunteers advanced to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including the program’s first Elite Eight in 2010.
Shay’s first Division I assistant coaching gig came at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he was first the director of basketball operations for two seasons (2001-03) before being elevated to a full-time assistant prior to the 2003-04 season. The Panthers advanced to the NCAA Tournament in both of his seasons as an assistant coach before the staff moved on to Tennessee for the 2005-06 season.
After graduating with a master’s degree from Western Illinois in 1998, Shay spent two seasons as an assistant coach and sports information director at Mercyhurst (Pa.) College. He was a walk-on for the Hawkeyes and Dr. Tom Davis for four seasons and earned his bachelor’s degree from Iowa in health promotion in 1995.
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